Combination rolling mill

ABSTRACT

A cartridge loadable combination mill for rolling beam, structural or plate products. The combination mill includes a pair of cartridge or cartridge-like loaded mill stands, the first of which has a movable mill housing and the second of which is adaptable to being moved out of the mill line. The cartridges contain a pair of horizontal and vertical rolls that are aligned and adjusted prior to insertion into the mill stands through the mill housing windows. A four station cartridge transfer means having alternative stations simultaneously alignable with both mill stand windows is provided for supporting, positioning, and transferring work roll cartridges to the mill stands for insertion therein. A pair of movable table rolls with side guards adjustable to the maximum width of the first mill stand are movable either along the mill line or out of said line.

United States Patent 91 Eibe [54] COMBINATION ROLLING MILL [75] Inventor: Werner W. Elbe, McCandless Township, Allegheny County, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Blew-Knox Company 22 Filed: I March 1, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 230,574.

Related U.s. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 15,236, March 2, 1970, Pat. No.

[52] US. CL, ..72/238, 72/250 [5 1] Int. Cl. ..B2lb 31/08, B2lb 39/20 [58] Field of Search ..72/238, 239, 250

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,180,125 4/1965 OBrien .L ..72/239 3,l94,046 7/1965 Roy et a1. ..72/238 Jan.23, 1973 Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Attorney-Buell, Blenko & Ziesenheim 5'11 ABSTRACT A cartridge loadable combination mill for rolling beam, structural or plate products. The combination mill includes a pair of cartridge or cartridge-like loaded mill stands, the first of which has a movable mill housing and the second of which is adaptable to being moved out of the mill line. The cartridges contain a pair of horizontal and vertical rolls that are aligned and adjusted prior to insertion into the mill stands through the mill housing windows. A four station cartridge transfer means having alternative stations simultaneously alignable with both mill stand windows is provided for supporting, positioning, and

' transferring work roll cartridges to the mill stands for insertion therein. A pair of movable table rolls with side guards adjustable to the maximum width of the first mill stand are movable either along the mill line or out of said line.

12 Claims, 33 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 23 1975 sum 02 [If 16 m w t SHEET UBUF 16 PATfNIEnJAazslsra 3.712102 sum as HF 16 Fig. 9

PAIENTEDJAH3|973 3.712.102

SHEET UBUF 16 PATENTEDJAN 23 I975 SHEET lOUF 16 PAIENI H) JAN 213 mu PATENTEDJAN 23 Ian SHEET 130! 16 PATENTEU JAN 23 I975 sum 1m 16 Fig. 28

PATENTEI] m 23 1975 SHEET lBUF 16 Fig. 3/

COMBINATION ROLLING MILL This application is a division of co-pending application Ser. No. 15,326 filed Mar. 2, 1970 now US. Pat. No. 3,665,746.

My invention relates to a new combination mill and, in particular, a cartridge loadable combination mill for rolling beams, structurals, or plates.

For a mill to provide a diversity of rolling products, it has been customary to convert a particular mill line from one product to another by changing either the mill stands as well as the work rolls contained therein or by providing means that make the mill adaptable to hold various different product work rolls. As an alternative to a convertible mill line, various product mill lines can be provided. However, both methods of providing a diversity of rolled products have disadvantages. ln changing a line from one rolled product to another, losses in production and man hours are caused by the down time or inoperability of the mill during the conversion. To a number of product lines requires an initially high capital outlay but overcomes the serious problem of down time losses.

I provide an improved solution to the problem of rolled product diversification without the high initial cost required for a number of product lines and without high down timerequirements to convert a single mill line. I provide a cartridge loadable combination mill I pair ofmill stands. In rolling beams, for example, one of the stands is a universal-type mill stand and the other is an edging-type mill stand. In rolling structural products, the edging mill stand is movable out of the mill line towards the drive side; the spindles for the edging mill are positioned through the drive window to rest within the stand after the cartridge is removed. Both stands are cartridge or cartridge-like loaded with a universal-type cartridge containing a pair of horizontal and vertical rolls and the cartridge-like assembly containing a pair of horizontal rolls. In the production ofboth structural and plate products, the universal mill stand is loaded with a cartridge-like assembly for holding the two high horizontal structural and plate rolls. Production of a plate product involves the use of a universal-type cartridge in the edging mill stand as edging and pinch rolls. The universal mill stand incorporates a movable housing on the operator's side of the mill line which is positionable at preselected settings conforming to various widths of the product to be rolled. The movable housing is securely retained on the shoe plates by means of a toggle operated clamping mechanism.

The universal-cartridge and cartridge-like assemblies are supported and aligned with respect to the mill prior to insertion into the stands by means of a four station transfer table which is movable on a line parallel to the mill line. Alternative stations of the transfer table are simultaneously alignable with the mill housings for simultaneous extraction and insertion of the cartridges into and out of their respective stands. The cartridge assemblies ride on guideways that extend from the transfer means to and into the mill stands. The universal stands guideway permits unrestricted movement of the movable housing, and the edging mill has a guideway supported between the mill housings and movable therewith. The cartridges are pushed into the mill stands from the transfer table by means of hydraulic cylinders-Great time savings are accomplished in part because the cartridges are preassembled in the work roll shop or set up area prior to conversion of the mill line and are positioned on the transfer means in a nonaligned position to await alignment after ejection of an existing cartridge or cartridge-like assembly from the mill. The cartridges have one discrete position within the mill and are secured therein by means of hydraulic cylinders.

I provide table rolls that have a width equal to the maximum width of the universal stand to accommodate all'sizes of rolled products. At least two of the table roll assemblies are positioned behind the edging mill stand and are movable. One of the table roll assemblies is movable along the mill line to occupy the space left when the edging mill is moved out ofthe line during the production of structural products; the other one is movable into and out of. the mill line to occupy the space vacated by the first table roll assembly.

Since the work roll cartridges are preassembled and adjusted prior to conversion and since their actual movement into and out of the mill stands requires very little time, the actual conversion from one rolled product to another is extremely short and a minimum down time is required. Further advantages and fcatu res of my invention will become apparent from a perusal of the following description of a presently preferred embodiment of my invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of my combination mill in position to convert from a beam to a plate product;

FIGS. 2-4 are parallel sequential block diagrams of the conversion steps from a beam to a plate product;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of one of the conversion steps from a beam or plate product to a structural product;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of my mill in beam rolling position with astructural cartridge-like assembly prior to or after conversion;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation in partial section from the operator's side of my mill in plate rolling position;

FIG. 8 is a plan view ofthe mill shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation in partial section of the movable housing of the first mill stand with a cartridge;

FIG. 10 is front elevation of the cartridge loaded first mil stand;

FIG. I] is a plan view in partial section of the screwdown assembly of the first mill stand;

FIG. 12 is a section of the screw-down taken along line XIIXII of FIG.v II;

FIG. 13 is a side elevation and partial section of the balancing cylinder, hanging rods and notched bar of the first mill stand;

FIG. 14 is a sectional elevation of the cartridge wheel assembly;

FIG. 15 is a front side cut-away elevation, in partial section, ofthe cartridge for beam products;

FIG. 16 is an end elevation of the cartridge shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the cartridge shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 inserted in the first mill stand and screw-in drive-coupling arrangement shown in FIGS. 23 and 24;

FIG. 18 is a split section of the cartridge showing on one half the bottom work roll and chocks and on the other halfthe top work roll and chocks;

FIG. 19 A-B-C diagrammatically shows various size wide flanged beams between the vertical rolls and a filler block for the screw-in;

FIG. 20 is an isometric partial section of the longitudinal adjusting means for the lower work roll;

FIG. 21 is a front section of the adjusting means shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is an end section of the adjusting means shown in FIGS. 20 and 21;

FIGS. 23 and 24 show the vertical screw-in driveclutch means;

FIG. 25 is a section of the cooling fluid coupling means;

FIG. 26 is a diagrammatic view of the top cartridge sidewalls showing the bores for rapid coupling means;

FIG. 27 is a section of a grease/or oil rapid coupling means;

FIG. 28 is a section of a combination cooling fluid and oil or grease rapid coupling means;

FIG. 29 is a partial front elevation of the cartridge sidewalls showing the cooling passageways and rapid service coupling means;

FIG. 30 A,B,C are sections of the cross-over/carryover guide adjusting means at various center lines for differing rolled products;

FIG. 31 is a section of the opposing threaded means for positioning the spacing between the guides;

FIG. 32 is a section of the guide adjusting means mounting member and sleeve; and

FIG. 33 shows the guide in various positions for rolling, roll changing, and out ofthe line.

Referring to FIG. 1, I have shown my combination mill in beam rolling position just prior to a change over to a plate product. The combination mill includes a universal mill stand 1 having a fixed housing 2 on the drive side of the mill line and a movable housing 3 on the operator's side of the mill line. The combination mill also includes an edging mill stand 4 having housings fixed in relation to each other. Universal mill stand I is designed to hold a universal-type cartridge 5 (more fully described hereinafter) that includes a pair of horizontal and vertical rolls. Edging mill stand 4 includes a cartridge-like assembly 6 containing a pair of edging rolls 7.

My mill line includes table roll assembly 8 positioned in front of universal mill stand 1 and having adjustable sideguards l0 movable by means of hydraulic cylinders 11 to coordinate the center line of the tables with the product being rolled as well as the movable housing 3. Table roll assemblies 12 and 13, behind mill stands 1 and 4, are movable along tracks 14 and 16 by means of hydraulic cylinders 17 and 18 respectively. Tracks 14 are flanged or channeled so as to cooperatively retain the table supports that ride within the channel. Table roll assemblies 8, 12 and 13 are, preferably, as wide as the widest separation between housing 2 and 3 of stand 1. To accommodate various roll products, the product center line moves across the table as stand 1 is increased in size to accommodate increasingly larger rolled products.

A cartridge transfer means 19 is positioned to move in a line parallel to the mill line. Transfer means 19 has four tracked stations, AD; alternative stations, A and C, and B and D, are simultaneously alignable with the housing windows in stands 1 and 4. Transfer means 19 rides in a pair of parallel guideways 21 and 22, and is moved by hydraulic cylinder 23, which is shown in its fully retracted position in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, stations B and D are aligned with the windows in stands 1 and 4 respectively. When cylinder 23 is actuated and fully extended, stations A and C are aligned with housing 1 and 4 respectively. Each station includes a set of tracks 24 that are alignable with tracks 26 and 27 of the respective mill stands 1 and 4, and which extend over cylinder 31 and 32 and lead to the roll shop or set up area.

Prior to converting the combination mill from one rolled product to another, replacement or conversion roll assemblies in the form of a cartridge are placed on the ready" position of transfer means 19. The universal-type cartridge and cartridge-like assemblies are made up in the roll shop including the replacement of all chocks, rest bars and guides, internal hydraulic, lubrication, and cooling connections and alignment of the work rolls. The cartridge is then moved from the work shop area to the transfer means by utilizing either an overhead crane or by rolling it on its wheels. Building up the cartridge and aligning its work rolls in the work shop area as well as transporting it from the work shop area to the transfer means next to the mill line is accomplished without shutting down the mill line. For example, positioned on station A is a previously assembled cartridge-like assembly 28 containing two horizontal rolls for rolling a desired plate product. Positioned on station C is cartridge 29 which is the same as cartridge 5 except that it is ofa somewhat smaller size. Both of these cartridges are placed in their respective mills for rolling a plate product.

FIGS. 2 through 4 diagrammatically show the steps involved in converting from a beam-type product to a rolled plate product. Generally, the first step involves the removal of beam cartridge 5 from stand I by means of hydraulic cylinder 31, which is positioned under the tracks leading from the transfer means to the roll shop, and which is connectable to the cartridge by a hook latching means. Cartridge 5 is pulled along tracks 26 and 24 and placed on station B of transfer means 19. Simultaneously therewith, the edging roll cartridge-like assembly 6 is withdrawn from stand 4 along tracks 27 and 24 and positioned on station D of transfer means 19 by means of hydraulic cylinder 32, which is also positioned beneath the tracks to the roll shop. Hydraulic cylinder 23 is then fully extended to position transfer means 19 to a second position to align stations A and C with the windows in stand 1 and 4 respectively. Simultaneously with the movement of the transfer means 19, housing 3 of stand 1 is moved from one of its narrower beam rolling positions to a wider plate rolling sembly 28, containing horizontal plate rolls and cartridge 29,'containing pinch rolls and vertical edging rolls, are pushed into stands 1 and 4 by hydraulic cylinders 31 and 32 respectively. Hydraulic clamping means securely position the cartridges within the stand and at the same time function as utility service connections for a hydraulic fluid, oil or grease, and water for cool-. ing. Hydraulic balancing means both horizontal and vertical as well as the screw-downs and screws-up are positioned and adjusted. After these fittings have been made and the table roll side guards adjusted for the width of the product to be rolled, and the crossover guides adjusted, the mill is ready for production of plate. At a convenient time, cartridges 5 and 6 are taken back to the roll shop for either a partial or a complete interchange of newly dressed work rolls. Transfer means 19 is then placed in its ready position by retraction of hydraulic cylinder 23. Essentially the same procedure would be utilized from one size of beam to another, except that different sized rolls would be contained in the cartridges rather than types.

Converting from either a plate or a beam-type rolled product to a structural product involves the same procedure as described above, except that: First, the previously prepared cartridge-like assembly containing the horizontal structural rolls 33, FIGS. 5 and 6, is positioned on station A of transfer means 19. The cartridges of stands 1 and 4 are removed by hydraulic cylinders 31 and 32 respectively and positioned on stations B and D of transfer means 19. After extraction of the cartridges from the mill stands, mill stand 1 is widened by moving housing 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the

combination mill is converted from a beam product having a narrow setting which requires that the mill stand be widened. Mill stand 4 is not necessary and is, therefore, moved out of the mill line by hydraulic cylinders 34. Mill stand 4 rides on its shoe plates in a manner similar to that of housing 3 of mill stand 1. Spindles 36 for driving the plate and beam rolls of stand 4 are supported by support 36a whichis positioned between the mill stand and the motor (not shown). Spindles 36 enter the drive side of the housing window of stand 4 as it is moved from the mill line to the drive side. Table roll assembly 12 is moved along rails 14 and positioned in the space vacated by stand 4 by hydraulic cylinders 17. The full extension of cylinder 17 pushes table 12 and securely holds it in position. Hydraulic cylinders 18' are then fully extended to push filler roll table assembly 13 into a position vacated by table rolls l2.

Simultaneously with these operations, and after the positioning of housing 3, transfer means 19 is positioned to align the structural work rolls contained in cartridge-like assembly 33 with the window in housing 3 of stand 1. Assembly 33 is then inserted into the mill and the necessary connections and adjustments are made and the mill is ready for operation. A reverse operation of that heretofore described will convert the structural back to a plate or beam product.

When my combination mill has been arranged to roll a plate product, the edging mill stand is transformed into a small universal-type of mill by the use of cartridge 29 of FIG. 7. Since stand 1 is connected to a larger drive or power unit, it carries out the primary reduction.

Stand 4, on the other hand, is generally connected to a smaller drive unit and is utilized as an edging mill with the horizontal rolls acting as pinch rolls for the nondriven vertical edging rolls. Since edging forces on small to medium sized plate or strip are small, the pinch roll power is considered sufficient to do the driving work. Eventual marking on the plate or strip by the somewhat narrower-than-plate pinch rolls is flattened out by rolling the last pass through only the reduction rolls of stand 1.

Referring to FIGS. 7 through 10, stand 1 is supported on shoe plates 37 and 38, and stand 4 is supported by shoe plates 38 and 39, all of which are securely fastened or mounted to the foundation of the mill. Shoe plate 38 is designed to support one half of each of stands 1 and 4 to keep the distance between the stands to a practical working minimum. Stand l includes a movable housing 3 which is secured to shoe plates 37 and 38 by a pair of clamping means 41, and a fixed housing 2 permanently bolted to the plates. Clamping means 41 is operated by means of hydraulic cylinder 42 connected at toggle joint arm 43. The jaws of clamp 41 rigidly hold housing 3 to shoe plates 37 and 38. The toggle joint arm 43 in combination with the retracted position of the cylinder 42 maintain a fail safe clamping means to prevent the mill house from separating during rolling in the case of a hydraulic or other type of power failure. Self aligning pads 44 provide excellent contact with the shoe plates for maximum clamping of the housing. Mill housing 2 is fixed and is used to position the mill equipment, such as the cartridge, to the center of the mill line. It, therefore, must be securely anchored to the shoe plates or foundation.

Mill stand 4 includes a pair of mill housings that are not movable relative to each other. However, the mill stand must be movable along shoe plates 38 and 39 when the line is converted to a structural product. Stand 4 is movable along the plates into and out of the mill line by hydraulic cylinders 34. Stand 4 is aligned and secured to the shoe plates by the full extension of cylinder 34 and clamping means 46. Clamping means 46 includes the same arrangement as that used in stand 1 including a pair of jaws and toggle joint arm actuated by hydraulic cylinder 47. Within stand 4 are a pair of rails 27 for carrying and supporting cartridge 29 which contains horizontal rolls 48 and vertical edging rolls. A pair of screw-downs 49 and screw-ups 51 operated by the respective drive assemblies 52 and 53 provide the mill stand 4 with accurate roll adjustment for rolling both plate and beam products. The stand is also'provided with hydraulic balancing cylinders (not shown) and hanging rods 55 to relieve any slack between the screw-downs and the upper chocks 56 of roll 48. Stand 4 includes a set of crossover guides 57 which can be pivoted by hydraulic cylinder 58 attached to the mill housing to free the guides from stand 1 when stand 4 is moved from the mill line. A pair of guides 170 are mounted to stands 1 and 4. These guides can be rendered ineffective for structural rolling and replaced 

1. A cartridge for holding a pair of work rolls and adapted to fit through a window in a mill stand comprising: A. a pair of longitudinal sidewalls having windows therein; B. a yoke mounted at each end of said sidewalls for securing said sidewalls in a spaced apart relation; C. a shelf mounted on each sidewall and adapted to support a work roll chock; D. a lower horizontal work roll and associated chocks, said chocks nesting between said sidewalls and on said shelf; E. an upper horizontal work roll and associated chocks, said upper chocks including upstanding legs adapted to engage hanging rods of balancing cylinders of a mill stand and having landings adapted to receive screw-downs of said stand; and F. means for receiving grease and water, said means including at least two different passageways each connected to an associated function of the work rolls.
 2. A cartridge as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sidewalls include a second set of shelves above said first set and a pair of vertical work rolls and associated chocks, said chocks nesting between said sidewalls and on said second set of shelves.
 3. A cartridge as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cartridge includes at least one pair of screw-ins and a balancing cylinder for positioning said vertical work roll chocks.
 4. A cartridge as set forth in claim 3 wherein said screw-ins and balancing cylinder are mounted on the cartridge yoke.
 5. A work roll cartridge for rolling mill stands having a window and comprising: A. a pair of sidewalls having windows therethrough; B. a yoke mounted between the ends of said sidewalls; C. first and second mounting shelves secured to said sidewalls; D. upper and lower horizontal work rolls and their associated support chocks, said lower work roll chock being nested between said sidewalls and on said first mounting shelves, said upper work roll chocks including legs adapted to engage hanging rods of a mill stand; E. a pair of vertical work rolls and associated suppOrt chocks, said vertical chocks nesting between said sidewalls and on said second mounting shelves, said vertical chocks adapted to support said upper work roll chocks prior to insertion into a mill stand; and F. service coupling means for receiving at least one of grease, hydraulic fluid, and water.
 6. A cartridge as set forth in claim 5 including at least one pair of screw-ins and a balancing cylinder for positioning said vertical chocks.
 7. A cartridge as set forth in claim 5 including a means for longitudinally adjusting the lower horizontal work roll comprising at least one jack assembly, a vertical leg adapted to fit within a corresponding vertical passageway in the sidewall, an inclined leg connected to said vertical leg and abutting said leg through a portion of their lengths and adapted to fit within a corresponding inclined passageway in said lower work roll chock, said jack assembly being connected to the inclined leg to raise lower said inclined leg through its corresponding passageway and forcing associated motion of the vertical leg to thereby longitudinally move said lower work roll chock.
 8. A cartridge as set forth in claim 6 including a removable filler block positionable between the screw-ins and the vertical roll chocks for effectively increasing and decreasing the length of the screw-ins.
 9. A cartridge as set forth in claim 5 including a set of wheels for facilitating movement of the cartridge into and out of a mill stand.
 10. A cartridge as set forth in claim 5 wherein the sidewall includes at least one longitudinally extending passageway adapted to being connected to a service coupling means for receiving water.
 11. A cartridge as set forth in claim 6 including means for rotating said screw-ins, said means mounted on a rolling mill foundation and disengagably connected to said screw-ins, said connection including at least one pivot arm hydraulically actuated.
 12. Adjustable carryover guides for a rolling mill comprising: A. a mounting sleeve having internal threads at one of its ends; B. a hollow support member having threads a portion of its external length and engagably mounted within said threaded portion of said sleeve; C. means for rotating said support member to cause it to move throughout the threaded portion of said sleeve; D. a shaft mounted at one of its ends within said support member and movable therewith, said shaft having at its other end a pair of oppositely threaded members rotatable with said shaft and movable therewith; E. a guide element threadably mounted on each threaded member and movable along said threaded member by rotation of said shaft; and F. means for rotating said shaft. 